Florida State pummels Boston College, 44-14, improves to 4-0
Playing before its first home sellout crowd since 2015, the Florida State football team delivered a throwback performance.
Trey Benson got things started Saturday night by returning the opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown — the first of his three touchdowns on the night — and the Seminoles never looked back. They opened up a 31-point lead at halftime and rolled to a 44-14 victory over visiting Boston College.
The Seminoles improved to 4-0 and 2-0 in the ACC, while the Eagles fell to 1-3 and 0-2.
Benson, an Oregon transfer who was making his first appearance as a kick returner for FSU, became the first Seminole to return a kickoff for a touchdown since Kermit Whitfield in the 2014 national championship game. He became the first Seminole to do it on a game’s opening kickoff since Tamarick Vanover accomplished the feat against Miami in 1992.
Benson added another touchdown on a 15-yard run midway through the first quarter, and he scored on a 36-yard scamper in the fourth quarter. FSU’s other first-half touchdowns came on a 1-yard run by Lawrance Toafili and a 31-yard pass from quarterback Jordan Travis to Kentron Poitier.
Florida State not only had a 31-0 lead at the half, but the yardage disparity was at least that impressive; the Seminoles had racked up 327 yards of offense in the first two quarters, while the FSU defense limited Boston College to 64.
FSU extended its advantage to 37-0 early in the second half on a 22-yard run by Treshuan Ward (Ryan Fitzgerald missed the extra point).
Travis, who was questionable coming into the week after being sidelined with a lower-leg injury at Louisville, delivered a career-best passing performance before leaving midway through the third quarter.
Despite playing with a light brace on his left knee, Travis completed 16 of 26 passes for 321 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. His previous career high was 274 yards last season against Miami.
FSU’s defense carried its shutout until late in the third quarter when Boston College manufactured a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to make it 37-7.
Florida State played without several injured starters and key players, including defensive end Jared Verse, defensive tackle Fabien Lovett and offensive tackle Robert Scott.
Next up for the Seminoles is another home game next Saturday against Wake Forest, which lost in overtime earlier Saturday to Clemson, 51-45. The Demon Deacons are now 3-1 on the season and 0-1 in the ACC. That game is slated for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff.
Stay connected with Warchant.com for complete postgame coverage.
